FPD Freshman Sets National Pole Vault Record

FPD Freshman Sets National Pole Vault Record

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - Carson Dingler has been doing this since the third grade.

"We always tried to tell our kids, 'Hey there's an elementary kid over there jumping higher than you,'" April Cassell, head women's cross country and track coach at FPD, says. '"You need to get to work!"

You could say it runs in the family. Carson's dad, Kip, was also a pole vaulter at FPD. He went on to do it at the University of Florida.

"She got the bug the first time she put a pole in her hand," Judy Dingler, Carson's mom, says. "It's amazing to watch her dad and her both enjoy the experience of the sport."

Earlier this month, Carson broke a national pole vaulting record that had stood since before she was even born. The old record for 14-year-olds was 12 feet, 6 inches.

On the day she set that record, at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Nationals in Birmingham, she cleared 12 feet on one of her first few tries. Right after that, instead of just going up a few more inches, she went all the way to 12 foot 8--and cleared it.

"She's got a will to win," Cassell says. "She just wants to be the top kid and that's just amazing. She's just got that drive."

And now, no pun intended, she's set the bar even higher.

We asked her if she's shooting for 13 feet now.

"Of course," she said. "14 is my overall goal this year."

And in 2016, you might just see her in the Rio Summer Olympics.

"She's got the speed it takes to get into the vault and the want to--the desire," Cassell says.